China’s rise and its impact on South East Asian businesses

For centuries voyagers from China and India have brought goods, people, religions and cultures to the countries of South East Asia. In more modern times one of the most important visitors to the region was Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader who visited Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in November 1978. Deng was very impressed with Singapore’s economic development in particular, and in discussions with Singapore’s then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Lee described the policies that had allowed Singapore to rise quickly from a third world country to first world income status. During these meetings Lee also requested that Deng stop trying to export communism to the region, with political struggles in the region being a major source of instability.